The Continence of Scipio (Batoni)
| The Continence of Scipio | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Artist | Pompeo Batoni |
| Year | 1771 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, history painting |
| Dimensions | 226.5 cm × 297.5 cm (89.2 in × 117.1 in) |
| Location | Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg |
The Continence of Scipio is a 1771 history painting by the Italian artist Pompeo Batoni.[1] It depicts a scene from the Siege of Carthage during the Second Punic War when Scipio Africanus, a general of the Roman Republic, refused to accept a ransom for an aristocratic female prisoner and released her to her fiancée. The story of Scipio's clemency is told by Livy and has been a popular subject for artists.
Although best-known for his portrait paintings of Grand Tourists, the Rome-based Batoni also produced scenes from religious and classical history. The style of the painting indicates his shift in his later career towards a more painterly form of classicism.[2] The painting was commissioned by Count Shuvalov in 1768 on behalf of Catherine the Great for a sum of around 1,700 scudi.[3] The Empress also commissioned a pendant Thetis Takes Achilles from the Centaur Chiron.[4] Today both works are in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.[5]
References
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Bowron, Edgar Peters & Kerber, Peter Björn. Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-century Rome. Yale University Press, 2007.
- Clark, Anthony M. Studies in Roman Eighteenth-century Painting. Decatur House Press, 1981.
- Milam, Jennifer D. Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art. Scarecrow Press, 2011.
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